Thursday, May 27, 2010

Steps I have taken, tricks I have tried....

                                                     

I thought I would dedicate this post to sharing the different steps I have taken to reach my goal "wedding weight" while doing the WW diet for the last 10 months. In these last 10 months I have tried many things....some of which were good ideas, and others that weren't the best ones.....

This is what I did: I joined WW online for a month. After this month, I got a hang of what the diet entailed....I also did a lot of googling, to find out more about the diet.  I bought the books, and taught myself how to calculate how many points any food item was. My mom had a WW calculator she gave me, and I can use that to figure out the point value in any item. All you need to know are these 3 things......Calories, Fiber, and Fat, that's it. You can look up how many points you are allowed to have. It is based on several factors, but just google "WW point allowance" and it should bring up how to figure how many points you are allowed a day.....and then there are always the 35 bonus points a week! :) I love those!

Here are some of the things I eat quite often.....

Breakfast Favorites:

*Fruit, and lots of it!! :) Most fruits are about 1 WW Point per cup. Never liked fruit too much, but I have found my favorite fruits and I have stuck with those. I always make sure I buy strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi's and grapes occasionally. You can also find the cups of sliced pears that are only 1 WW Point as well (most of them).

*Honey Comb: A cup and a half of cereal, and skim milk. The milk doesn't really matter to me as much, because I don't ever drink it up anyways, so usually I don't count it.  2 WW Points Total! :)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat: 2 WW Points a packet.

*Use white wheat bread (2 slices, 1 WW Point) and spread a half tablespoon of PB on each slice (half tablespoon 1 point, total of 2 points if you do a half tablespoon on each slice) 3 points for 2 pieces of PB toast.

Lunch Likes:

*Baked Lays (Individual bags) They work great because 1 bag (like you would buy at Subway) is only 2 WW Points.  I find that these are better to buy than the large bags they sell in the supermarket. Why? Because, I always would become tempted to eat more, since they are healthy and all, and although yummy, this would hurt my points big time....so I always make a special trip to Wegmans or Subway to buy the individual bags of baked lays.

*Cambells Soup At Hand: Only 1 WW Point if you stick with Chicken Noodle or Vegetable. The rest are more points.

*Smart Ones: Broccoli, Potato and Cheese Dishes, they are my favorite, and the only ones I haven't gotten tired of yet. You really have to try them all, but I strongly recommend trying this one for sure! :)

Dinner Delights:

*Cascadian Farm French Fries (Crinkle style, or skinny style): You can find these at Wegmans! :) 2 points for 30 of the skinny fries, and 2 points for 18 of the crinkle fries. That's really good, and they taste great!! :)

*Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Hot Dogs: These are beef hot dogs, and they taste pretty darn good for being so healthy!  These are my favorites, I have tried Ball Parks, but I always come back to these.

*Grilled Cheese Sandwiches! :) The important thing to remember when making these. Use a good bread. All the bread I buy is the WHITE WHEAT brand. They make hot dog buns, hamburger buns, and regular bread ofcourse. 2 slices of this bread are only 1 WW point. The hot dog buns and the hamburger buns are 1 point a piece.

*Sometimes I eat Bagel Bites, LOL....Only 9.5 points for a whole box of 9. Its a good amount of points, but if you have them left at the end of the day, I say go for it. Sometimes if I have a small lunch or breakfast, I will do bagel bites for dinner.

*Tysons breaded chicken patties: 3 points, add a WHITE WHEAT BUN 4 points total. 

Good Snacks for when you are just hungry and need something:
*1 point popcorn bags, I always get kettle corn.
*String Cheese: 1 WW Point
*Sugar Free Jello: 0 WW points!!
*Fruit Rolls Ups: 1 WW Point
*You can always get the 100 calorie packs of cookies, goldfish, etc... they generally are around 2 points.

Eating out favorites, food I love:

*Chick Fil A Chicken Sandwich (Regular Chicken sandwich, not grilled) 8.5 points if you ask them to use a wheat bun. Add a point if you use BBQ sauce on it.

*Noodles and Company: Small House Marinara dish made with penne noodles. Ask them to add NO toppings, to use just the sauce, and don't get a chicken add on. This meal comes to only 5.5 points, WOW! Is definitely one of my favorites. The employees know me by name, I think I go in there a bit much. 

*Wegmans: Strawberry Smoothie, smallest size, 1.5 WW points, super great for you, and low in points!! :)
 Wegmans mini cannoli: 2 WW points
 Wegmans mini fruit tart: 5 points, but soooooo worth it! :)

The Sweet Stuff: (my fiance, hehe)
But for real,

*ANYTHING Skinny Cow, most of their ice creams range from 2-3 points.
*Smart Ones Desserts: My favorites are the cookie dough sundaes! :) 3 WW Points
* 3 Musketeers just came out with a new candy bar, almost like a twix, but they are called Truffle Crisp Bars, 2 points a bar, 4 points in a pack.

Working out has benefited me but it wasn't anything drastic, that changed my schedule too, too much. I just started to run, and sometimes walk around the neighborhood 2-3 times a week. About 2 miles every walk or run. 1 mile out, and then I would turn around and do 1 mile back home. I always take our puppy "Roxy" with me, so when she needs to take a "break" so do I, it works very well for me, LOL. If I am tired, I walk.  I also signed up for 5K's here and there. Not all the time, maybe 1 a month, or 1 every  2 months, it depends. That's all the exercise I did, and combined with the WW diet,  it really helped.

Buy a new scale, thats what I did last August, when I started out all of this.  I have had to cut back on my alcoholic drinks, never drank too, too much, but still, it helps to cut back. When I do have mixed drinks, I stick with diet coke and rum, because a shot of rum is 2 points, and then the Diet Coke is 0 points! :) 2 points total. Most beers are also 2 points as well.

I get a lot of help from friends.....people who have been successful at this diet, and it really is motivating, when you see a change.  I have also started to drink only water. Making all these changes in my lifestyle has made me feel 10 times better, I feel more healthy, and I have a lot more energy than I used to. You know, I haven't been sick since I started this diet. Last year, I can't tell you how many times I came down with a cold. I am such an advocate for this WW diet, so I thought I would post some of the things I try to do myself. :) I have lost a total of 54 pounds and reached my goal weight, so I have a lot of faith in this diet, it has done wonders for me! :)

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